


The Run Away

by whisperedthing



Category: Andi Mack - Fandom
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Light Angst, One Shot, Short One Shot, Teen Angst, Teenage Rebellion, andi is around 16 in this fic so she can drive legally, because andi is definitely a little punk like bex was, buffy and cyrus appear for like two seconds, the return of andi's selfishness and jealousy, we love our baby but she is flawed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 11:28:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21160919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whisperedthing/pseuds/whisperedthing
Summary: “This just isn’t how we raised you, Andi and I want to understand!”“Funny, I didn’t think you raised me at all.”Whatever words Bex had been planning to say next disappeared. It felt like a ton of bricks hit her chest. Her mouth was left agape.





	The Run Away

It was ten pm and Bex was sprawled across the couch asleep. Is this what being an adult was like? She felt hands shaking her awake and she groaned, trying to bury her face in the cushions in a feeble attempt to escape.

“Bex -” Bowie’s voice whispered in her ear. “Wake up.”  
“I don’t wanna,”  
“Come on, I have something to tell you. Besides, I’m not going to let you sleep on the couch all night.”  
“Fine.” She said, slowly sitting up, her eyes half open. It was hard to tell who was more tired between the two. Bowie had picked up a second job as a cook in a semi-formal restaurant, but Bex was cooking something too.  
“I really appreciate that you made me lunch -”  
“You interrupted my sleep to tell me that?” She whined. “You could’ve just told me that tomorrow morning.”  
“Oh no, there’s more -” a chuckle escaped his mouth. “I really appreciate that you packed lunch for me, but...um, are you trying to put me on a diet or something?”  
Her eyebrows crinkled together. “No...I made you a sandwich, an infamous carb-heavy lunch.”  
“No,” he drew out. “You gave me two slices of bread. There was no cheese, there was no meat - just...bread. Not even any mayo.”  
“Uh, oops -” Bex grimaced. “This damn pregnancy brain, huh?”  
“It’s awful,” He laughed. “But it’s cool, my coworkers had a huge laugh and they all pitched in to buy me a hoagie from next door.”  
“Great. They either think we’re completely broke or they think I’m an evil wife who is trying to starve her husband to death,” she rolled her eyes, but a small chuckle escaped her mouth. She remembered when she was pregnant with Andi, her worst episode of forgetfulness resulted in her sobbing at a doctor’s office because she forgot her birthday.

“Oh, by the way, I didn’t see your car. Did you park in the circle tonight?”  
“No, I parked in my usual spot…” suddenly her eyes widened, tears springing to her eyes. “Do you think someone stole my car?”  
Bowie rubbed her shoulders. “Yes -” he started. “But I don’t think it was a criminal...Andi usually comes out of her room to at least wave to me when I get home…”  
“I didn’t hear her leave…”  
“Bex, you wouldn’t hear an elephant crashing through our bedroom window,” he rolled his eyes, then headed towards his daughter’s room, knocking twice before turning the doorknob. “She’s not here. Where do you think she’d be? Do you think she made plans and we just forgot?”  
“Definitely not,” Bex shook her head, starting to stand up and search for her phone. “She knows the rules. A text message when she leaves the house and another one when she arrives at her location safe - and she knows not to take my car without asking.” she found her phone halfway under the couch. She opened it and saw no messages. “You call Buffy, I’ll call Cyrus?”

Bowie was already unlocking his phone to do so.

“Hey - have you seen Andi?” Both parents asked, synchronized.. “No?” Their tone incredulous. Andi told them everything.  
If Buffy knew anything, she didn’t budge. Bowie sighed, then tusselled his hair. His heart was practically beating out of his chest. Where was she? “Well if you hear anything, please let me know.”  
Meanwhile, Bex refused to take no for an answer. “Cyrus Samuel Goodman, it’s ten pm and I don’t know where my child is. Yesterday I yelled at a produce worker that he was ruining my life because all of the avocados were too squishy. Then I sobbed. I am in a volatile state of hormone-induced emotions. So again, Cyrus, have you seen Andi?”  
“No,” Cyrus repeated firmly. He wasn’t lying. “But uh...okay, I know where she went.”  
“Then please, by all means, spill.” she replied, in what sounded like to Cyrus, a tone that was both sweet and threatening. Bex was usually seen as a cool, laidback parent, so to hear her this way was practically chilling. 

* * *

It was nearly an hour’s drive to a small cabin by a lake in a neighboring town, Woodhurst. The entire ride Bex was fuming. What the hell was her plan? To just steal their car and run away to Cyrus’ parents’ summer cabin? How long was she planning to camp there? Why did she decide to do this?

“We made stupid choices when we were teens too,” Bowie reminded her.  
“I never ran away to a cabin in a different town, though.”  
“If you had a friend willing to give you their parent’s keys, you probably would have.”  
“No this is beyond ridiculous.”  
“Look, I don’t think this was a good choice. I don’t want to condone this - I just think it’s important we don’t go in guns blazing. That treatment from our parents just made us more impulsive.”  
Well, Bex really couldn’t argue that point. The more strict Cece got, the more rebellious Bex became. “I’m just...pissed, Bowie! She scared us half to death.”  
“Yeah, I am too, but I’m more disappointed she for some reason felt the need to do this.” He parked the car in the driveway. The two slammed the car doors shut and stood on the porch. They looked at each other, then each took a deep breath and began knocking incessantly on the door.

Andi stood on the other side. Deep down, she knew they would come to find her. Besides Cyrus immediately texted her that he accidentally told. Still, a part of her was surprised they even noticed she was gone in the first place.

“Go away!”  
“Andi, let us in now!” Bex demanded.  
“Why should I?”  
“Because we’re your parents and we just want to talk to you.” Bowie tried.  
She hesitated, then opened the door. Her parents came barreling in. “I don’t want to go home.”  
“But why?” he asked, his tone soft.  
Andi shrugged. “You wouldn’t understand.”  
“Damn right we wouldn’t!” Bex raised her voice, much to Bowie’s chagrin. “This is - god, this tops the worst thing I’ve ever done!”  
“Bex!” he scolded.  
Andi scoffed. “See, this is why I didn’t want to let you guys in.”  
“This is just ridiculous, Andi, you stole my car and drove an hour away without telling us - why the hell would you make such a stupid choice?”  
She rolled her eyes.  
“This just isn’t how we raised you, Andi and I want to understand!”  
“Funny, I didn’t think you raised me at all.”

Whatever words Bex had been planning to say next disappeared. It felt like a ton of bricks hit her chest. Her mouth was left agape.

“Andi - ” Bowie started.  
“No, I don’t want to hear it.” Andi said. “It’s not fair.”  
“What isn’t fair, Andi?” Bex pleaded, finding her voice.  
“Don’t pretend like you guys are stupid! I spent 13 years of my life being raised by my grandparents, not knowing I had a mother who abandoned me and a father who didn’t know I existed,” Yeah, old wounds. She knew she should’ve been over it, but how could you just forget it all happened and pretend everything was okay? She still thought about it at night, tossing and turning. Sure, she forgave, but she still struggled. “And then you come back into my life and turn it upside down! And yeah, I learned to deal with it and it was fine. I was even happy - but then a year after you two get married, Bowie starts to work an extra job so I barely get to see him and then you tell me at my own art show that you want another baby and it’s like I disappeared. But it’s whatever, now you’re going to have a new baby and you two are going to raise it and create the happy little life you didn’t get to have with me because...because you and Cece chose to be selfish! When I look at baby pictures and family portraits, all I see are lies and it isn’t fair...this baby...this baby, it’ll have a normal life.” she flopped down on the couch. “Just admit it, this is a do-over baby because you messed up with me, Bex, and Bowie, you can’t stand the fact that you didn’t get to raise me at all.” tears welled up in her eyes - she had been holding it in for so long. She loved her parents, she really did, and though her story was less than conventional, she loved her life - but she kept her feelings bottled up for so long that she couldn’t help but burst at some point.

The two parents were silent, staring at each other, unsure of what to say. They had never seen Andi quite this way, but it reminded Bex of...herself. She sat beside Andi and Bowie followed suit.

“Andi...you already know I regret leaving you,” she practically whispered, her throat dry. “If I could change one thing in the world, it’d be that, okay? But this baby...it’s never going to replace you.” she put her hand over her daughter’s. “You are my baby. Always. And I am so immensely proud of who you are, you are so much...much more than I ever imagined when I was pregnant with you. More beautiful, more creative, more wonderful...”

“And ever since I learned you existed, my universe has become infinitely better. I know sharing sucks, but we’re not trying to replace you. We could never do that and we would never want to - no one can be you better than you. We just have so much love to give, Andi, and you’re going off to college soon and the idea of an empty house terrifies us. When we were talking about having another child, one of the biggest factors we considered was you. We just knew you were going to be an amazing sister.” Bowie finished.

Guilt had sunk into Andi’s chest. She realized how awful she had been and how rash her decision was. She always knew they loved her - she was just...angry and jealous. She nodded slowly. “I’m...sorry. I just...felt so ignored and felt like I was going to be replaced.”

“Your feelings are understandable,” Bowie said.  
“Your actions are not.” Bex said.  
“You’re totally grounded.” Bowie agreed.  
“Yeah...I probably deserve that.”


End file.
